Interior sectional partition



Aug. 28, 1928. a

, F. P. MITCHELL INTERIOR SEC'J'SIORAL PARTITION I Filed April 13, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 u j l F. P. MITCHELI:

INTERIOR SECTIONAL PARTITION Aug. 28, 1928.

Filed April 13, 1927 2 Shoots-Sheet Patented Aug. 28, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

INTERIOR SECTIONAL PARTITION.

Application filed April 13, 1927. Serial 110. 183,412.

My invention is a sectional partition suitable for oilices, banking rooms, and various other types of interior partitions, in which it is desired to have a partition which may be made in sections and erected in sections, the various sections being more or less standard so that they can be interchanged.

An object of my invention in internal sectional partitions is the construction of a partition which does not require specialhardware to fasten the various sections together,

or the elements of the sections, and in which the various elements may be locked into position without the use of screws, nails, or the like, other than those required to hold the posts or columns. 7

More specifically an object of my invention is the construction of a partition with a series of posts or columns in which panels having base boards may be inserted between such posts or columns, and with sash or the like above the panels. These panels with the base boardand a rail between the panel and the sash are interlocked with the posts by means of stops which may be slid into position lengthwise of such posts. In installing the door frames my removable stops are utilized so that doors and panels may be interchanged. 7

One of the main characteristics of my invention is the formation of posts or columns with vertical grooves to engage angular stops and also with additional grooves in which sash or panels may fit. The rails and base board have tongues fitting into the groove and with a molded part forming a backing for the stops, thus locking the stops in posi-' tion in connection with the columns or posts. Thusa feature of my invention is having the stops locked into position and thereby locking the various elements of the partition together.

Myinvention in some of its uses is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 tion.

Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 intho direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is an cl ovation showing a modified cap or molding; for the partition.

Figure 5 is a VOItlCitl section on theline 55 of Fig. 4 in the direction of the arrows.

is an elevation of part of a parti- Figure 6 is a detail perspective view showing the fitting of a post, a panel anda sash,

with base board and rail, illustrating the manner of locking the stop into position.

Figure 7 1s a horizontal section on the line 77 of Fig. 6 in the direction ofthe arrows.

Figure 8 is a horizontal section on the line 83 of Fig. 6 in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 9 is a crosssection showing a m'odi lied construction, illustrating a corner post in detail. 3

Fig. 10 is a cross section showing a modiiication of the upper molding and filling panel.

In constructing my partition I use as main elements a series of posts 11, with panels 12, i

having base boards 13 between the posts. Sash ll separated from the panels by rails 15 are also positioned between the posts above the panels. Doors 16 may be placed .where desired. An ornamental molding rail 17 may be utilized and a filling panel 18 on top of the molding,pwith an upper molding 19, having a cap 20 on top, as shown in the construction of Figs. land 2. In the detail, as shown in F igs; 4 and 5, afalse cap 21 rests on top of the posts and head pieces 22 bind the cap 1nto position. a

Referring to the specific construction as shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, one of the posts 11 forming part of the partition is illustrated in perspective and this has a face 25 with one or more grooves 26 immediately behind the face. The back 27 of the post may be plain or ornamental and there is a groove or opposite grooves 28 of lesser depth than the grooves 26, thus leavingprojecting strips .29 on one or each side of the post adjacent the back. The groove 26 together with the face of the post forms a longitudinal strip or strips 30 adjacent the face. vPosts of this construc: tion are secured to the floor in any suitable manner at the desired spacing. The panel 12 and base molding 13 may then be inserted between the posts by being thrust inwardly from the face, as the side edge 31 of the strips 30 is on substantially the same plane as the bottom of the grooves 28. The edge of the panel 32 fits snugly against the bottom of the groove 28 but the. vertical edge 33 ofthe base board is separated or spaced from the'edge 31 of the post. In this construction the base board may be secured to the panel in any suitable manner or the base board may be of suflicient thickness to have a tongue extending into the groove 28 in the same manner as the vertical edge of the panel 32 fits therein, in which latter case the panel would preferably rest on top of the base board.

The rail 15 is constructed with a tongue. 34, indicated dotted in Fig. 6, and may be inserted from the face side of the posts, the vertical end 35 of the tongue fitting against the bottom of the groove 28. Part of the vertical edge 36 of the rail is spaced from the edge 31 of the post in the same manner as the edge 33 of the base is spaced.

These structures above described are held in place by stops, designated generally by the numeral 37. These stops are formed right angular and have an interior flange 38 to lit in the grooves 26, and an CXtCI'IOl' flange 39*whic'hextcnds outwardlyat the side of the posts.

One manner of procedure in installing pariiililfll'lmllr accordance with my invention, 15 by first placing the posts properly spaced apart with the faces of the posts all in the sainedi'rection-so that theworkmen need only operate from one side. The base boardas preferably secured to the panel in any suitable-manner before being brought to the 10b, and fitted in the posts in the manner above described, then the angular stop may be slid downwardly fitting in the groove 2b in front of the edge of the panel and filling the space between the end of the base board and the side edge 31 of the post. The cross rail 15, which preferably has a tongue thereon, is inserted in place by tilting it slightly so that the tongue fits in the rabbct 28. 7 It may then be jammed downwardly, resting on top of the panel so that the end 36 of the rail locks the stop securely in position.

If the sash is in one piece, it is preferable toinstall it before the stops are locked in position.- If, however, the bottom rails and stiles of the sash are in separate pieces, these may beinstallcd after the stop is located. The upper molding and frieze may be instarted from the top of the partition.

From the above construction it will be seen that the stop is held in position by having the interior flange 38'fitting in the groove 26 and the exterior flange 39 fitting against the side edge 31 of the post, and also that the vertical end edges 3301' the base and the vertical end edges 36 of the rails 15 fit against the side d0 of the stop, thus holding such stop in position. By means of a stop the panel 12 and sash-14a are held in position.

The manner of connecting a door illustrated in Fig. 9, in which the doorjamb is indicated by the numeral 15. Inthis case the stop 37 is preferably first secured in position on the side of a postand the jamb is secured by screws 46 or the like. A head jamb 47 may then be secured in position, being dropped down frointhe topof the posts and,

after attachment to the side jambs 45, the door 16 may be hung.

In installing my invention I preferably glue the panel 12 to the base board, as indicated in' Fig. 2, so that these function as an integral construction and, as the rail 15 fits on top of the panel without the use of glue or other securing devices, such rail and panel may be readily removed in connection with the posts. 1 prefer to make the sash 14 with the bottom rail 48 separate from the stiles 49,;

and the top rail 50 also separate from the stiles, as by this construction the sash may be readily dismantled and can be altered in size to fit a smaller space'between posts or a lesser opening. The glass 51 of the sashiits in the rabbct 52 of the sash rails and stiles and is secured in position in the usual manner by a beading 53.

The frieze or filling panel 18 may have the upper molding l9 glued or otherwise secured thereto, and also the cap 20, so that these elements can be dropped over the top of the posts, fitting in the groove 28 formed by the projecting strips 2.) on the back of the posts and the stop 37 in the front. It is obvious that the stops may be placed in dillcrent positions on the posts and, by reversing the stops from the position shown: in Fig. 9 to the inside, corner posts can be built up on elevator cage structures or the like in which all the work of assembling the panels and other fittings may be done from the inside after installing the posts on the corners and the outside walls of an elevator cage. There are other types of construction in which it is inconvenient to work from both sides, by which my form of stop construction, locking the various elements in place, can be utilized and these various door, panel and sash clcmcnts being inserted from the front or from one side.

The groove 28 between the projecting strips 29 of the posts and the stop 37 may be considered as a rabbet so far as the post itself is concerned when the stops are removed and in which case the post has the characteristic shape, as shown at the top of Fig. (3, and with the surface of the rabbet :28 in alignment with the surface 31 of the front part of the posts. It is manifest, of course, that the surface 31 maybe closer to the center of the post than the bottom of the rabbct 28,1mt a characteris tic feature of my invention is that the various panel and sash elements may be inserted from the front of the posts and the stops may beiiv sorted longitudinally in the grooves 26, these stops being held in position by the baseboard, cross rail, or, other equivalent horizontal moldingsor ornamental elements.

In Fig. 10 I show a modificationof the upper part of the panel in which the upper molding 19 is niadein a separate piece from the filling panel 18. The filling panel rests on the moldinv rail 17 in the same manner as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5 and the cap is on top of the upper molding 19. This is the usual construction when the partitions are made of hard-wood, and the construction shown in Figs. 2 and 5 the usual construction with soft wood.

In constructing the partition it is usual to have the tenons on the rails 15, the to and bottom sash rails 48, the molding rail 1 the upper panel 18 and the tenon-s on the other features of the construction cut a little short so that they do not come to the bottoms of the rabbets 28 behind the stops 37. In other words there is a slight clearance between the ends of these. elements and the vertical posts.

Therefore, in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 through 9 if it is desired to remove one of the sections between two posts, the procedure may be as follows: First the glass is removed from the sash, then the stiles 19 are removed, and this allows removal of the bottom and top sash rails 48 which may be tilted at an angle to draw out of the rabbet 28. The molding rail 17 may also be tilted at an angle and removed. The. filling panel 18 with the upper molding 19 secured thereto'may next be tilted at an angle so that it clears the stops. After this, the cross rails 15 may be tilted at an angle and removed. This leaves only the anel 12 and the base molding 13 in position.

The stops 37 may then be bent outwardly out of the grooves 26 at the top and pulled slightly upwardly until they clear the edge of the base molding, whence the stops may be completely removed; and then the lower panel 12 and the base molding may be cntirely removed. In this manner of procedure there is suflicient give to the posts to allow the angular tilting of the upper panel '18 with the upper molding 19 attached thereto, which is only a few inches in height.

here the construction is made of hardwood and uses an upper filling panel 18 and upper molding 19'. as shown in Fig. 10, the procedure is substantially the same except that in this case if the construction is too rigid and the tenons of the filling panel 18-do not allow this to be tiltedat an angle, such panel may rest on the panel 12 and the upper n1old ing 19 may be removed by tilting. The stops 37 may then be bent outwardly at the top and pulled up sufficiently to clear the base molding 13 which allows the complete removal of the stops, and thereby the removal of the panel 12 and the upper filling panel 18.

Various changes may be made in the principles of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof, as set forth in the description, drawings and claims.

I claim:

1. A partition having a post with a rabbet on one sideand a shoulder adjacent the back, a panel or the like fitting in the rabbet and insertable from the face of the post, the panel bearing against the shoulder, a stop con nected to the post forward of the panel, and means connected to the panel holding the stop in position. 1

2. A partition having a post with a rabbet on one side and a shoulder adjacent the back, with a longitudinal groove in front of the rabbet, a panel or the like fitted in the rabbet bearing against the shoulder, said panel being insertable from the face of the post, a stop fitting in the groove and insertable longitudinally thereof, and means connected to. the panel engaging aside of the stop and holding said stop in the groove.

' 3. A partition having a post with-a rabbet on one side and a shoulder back of the rabbet and with a longitudinal groove forward of the rabbet towards the face of the post, a panel fitting in the rabbet and bearing against the shoulder, insertable from the face of the post, an L-shaped stop fitted in the groove and insertablc longitudinally therein, and means connected to the panel to engage one side of the stop and retain said stop in the groove.

' 4;. A partition having a post with a rabbet and a shoulder back of the rabbet, with a groove forward of the rabbet towards the 1 face of the post, a panel fitted in the rabbet and bearing against the shoulder, insertable from the face of the post, an L-shaped stop having one flange fitting in the groove and the other extending along the side of the post forward of the groove towards the face of the post, and a cross bar on the panel havng a tongue or tenon in the rabbet and having one end engaging a side of the stop to hold the stop in the groove and against the side of the post adjacent the face.

5. A partition comprising in combination a post having a rabbet on one side, a longitudinal shoulder rearwar'dly of. the rabbet, a longitudinal groove forward of the rabbet, there being a side edge of the post between the groove and the face of the post, a panel inserted in. the rabbet fitting against the shoulder, an L-shaped stop having an inte rior flange fitting in the groove and an exterior flange fitting against the said side edge of the post, a cross rail having a tongue or'tenon fitting in the rabbet and an end fitting against the side of the stop and resting on top of the panel, and a sash having stiles fitted in the rabbet behind the stop.

6. A partition havin a post with a longitudinal rabbet, a shoulc er back of the rabbet, a groove forward of the rabbet, with a side edge of the post between the groove and the face of the post, a panel fitting in the rabbet,

a cross rail having a tongue fitting in the rabbet, a sash having a stile fitting in the rabbet,

, the cross rail resting on the panel and the sash stile on the cross rail, a base board secured to the panel, the end of the base board and the end of the cross rail being spaced from the said side edge of the post, and an L- shapedstopinsertable in the groove, with an interior flange fitting therein and an exterior flange fitting against the said side edge of the post, said stop being slidable longitudinally of the groove between said side edge and the end of the cross rail and the base board.

7. A artition having in combination a post having a rabbet on one side and a shoulder back of the rabbet, a groove forward of the rabbet, there being a side edge between the groove and the front of the post, a panel, a sash having side stiles, a frieze fitting in the rabbet bearing against the shoulder, a base board, a cross rail and a to a rail, fitted to the panel, the sash stile and the frieze respectively, and each having an end spaced from the said side edge of the post, and an L-shaped stop having an interior flange fitted in the groove andan exterior flange fitted against the side edge of the post and between said side edge and the'end of the base hoard, cross rail and the top rail.

8. A partition having a post with a rabbet on one side and a shoulder adjacent the back of the rabbet, a'fittinghaving an edge portion extending into the rabbet and insertahlc from the front of the post, a groove in the 0st in front of the rabbet, an L-shapcd stop iaving one branch of the L fitted in said groove and the other branch extending along the side of the post, and a structural element engaging the side of the stop, said element being fixedly secured in relation to the post and to the stop and holding the stop in position with said stop holding said fitting in the rabbet.

9. A partition =con'iprising in combination a pair of posts each having a rabbet on the adjacent sides With-a shoulder at the back portion of the rabbet, a structural fitting insertable in the rabbet from the front part of the posts, the side of the posts forward of the rabbet allowing such fitting to be inserted without tilting, a groove in each post in front of the rabbet, a pair of L-shaped stops each having a first branch of the L fitted in the groove and a second branch extending along the side of the post towards the front otthe post, a securing member held in a fixed posi- Lesaaoo tion relative to the said fitting and to the said step, said member having its ends adjacent the sides of the second branch of the stop, the said member holding the stops in the side grooves and the stops holding the said fitting in the rabbets. I

10. A partition having a post with a rabbet on one side and a shoulder at the back portion of the rabbet, a structural fitting having its side edge in the rabbet and insertable from the front of the post, a groove in the post in front of the rabbet, an L-shaped stop having afirst branch fitting in the groove and a second branch extending along the side of the post towards the front, a holding member having a tongue or tenon fitted in the said rabbet and having an edge positioned to engage the side of the stop and hold the stop in the groove, the said stop holding the fitting in the rabbet.

11. A partition, as claimed in claim 10, the fitting and the holding member being relatively slidable to each other in the rabbet, the said holding element being tiltable to allow removal from the rabbet, the said stop being removable from the said groove after removal of the holding element and the said fitting being removable from the post by ::hifting same to the front of the post without tilting. i

12. A partition having a post with a rabbet on one side and a shoulder adjacent the back of the rabbet, a groove in front of the rabbet and a side edge in front of the groove on substantially the same plane as the back of the rabbet, a structural fitting insertable in the rabbet in front of the base without tilting and bearing against the shoulder, an L shaped stop having a first branch in the groove and a second branch extending along the said side of the post, a holding element having a tongue or tenon fitted in the rabbet and with an end edge extending along the side of the stop parallel to the said side of the post, the said holding element retaining 'the stop in position and the stop holding the structure fitting in position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FREDERIC P. MITCHELL. 

